Sub-divided parcel of building land



Dec. 24, 1968 w, LAW O 3,417,526

SUB-DIVIDED PARCEL OF BUILDING LAND Filed March 28, 1963 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q I2- ACCESS iSTR/P T I0 a 2 X F IG./ STREET 11 53, AccEs STRIP Q 6Z3" I6/ LOTB LOTC I ;27 28 24 LOTA 2 Fl G. 2 STREET g J INVEN TOR J. WYBURN LAWSON -jW ww- Dec. 24, 1968 J. w. LAWSON 3,417,526

SUB-DIVIDED PARCEL OF BUILDING LAND Filed March 28, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I a E? ACCESS STRIP if} 10 {53? LOT 8 LOT 0 if 12 c8 ACCESS STRIP 83 Q I lo 1 16 I LOT B LOT 0 LOT A [T1 71 34 I5 I I0 I 1 FIG. 3 STREET A M I IN'VENTOR J. WYBURN LAWSON BY" ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 24, 1968 J. w; LAWSON SUB-DIVIDED PARCEL OF BUILDING LAND 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 28, 1963 STREET STREET ACCESS STRIP I WY X INVENTOR BURN LAWSON TQRNE 3 kmmtkm Dec. 24, 1968 J. w. LAWSON 3,417,526

SUB-DIVIDED PARCEL OF BUILDING LAND Filed March 28, 1983 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 STREET STREET ACCESS STRIP 5% O ACCESS STRIFG;

.LHSHiS I I I l AAA? INVEN TOR I J. WYBURN LAWSON ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,417,526 SUB-DIVIDED PARCEL OF BUILDING LAND J. Wyburn Lawson, 1053 Chelsea Drive, Gttawa, Ontario, Canada Filed Mar. 28, 1963, Ser. No. 268,636 2 Claims. (Cl. 52-169) This invention relates to the art of municipal development and has as its principal object the improved utilization of building land whereby the desirable aesthetic qualities of privacy, breadth of outlook, and freedom of choice of building plan and orientation are made compatible with the desirable economic advantages of increased land use, and reduced cost of provision of road, water, sewer, electric, telephone and other services for a subdivision of any given size.

The invention relates particularly to novel arrangements for the subdivision of parcels of building land and has particular but not exclusive application to the arrangement of building lots within subdivided parcels of building land in urban and suburban areas where it is desirable to obtain a maximum of land use while retaining the advantages above enumerated.

Conventional practice in the subdividing of parcels of building land has been to divide such parcels into strips running between municipal or other access or service roads and then to divide these strips into lots defined by metes and bounds each of which has substantially the same frontage on the access road. Where maximum land use has been the governing factor, the frontage of the lots is usually determined by the minimum permissible in the local municipal by-law. Generally speaking, there are two series of lots on such a strip, one series fronting on each of the access roads between which the strip runs, and the lots of each series have a common boundary line somewhere in the middle of the strip.

One disadvantage of the conventional arrangement just described is that for a lot of given area the nature and size of a building which may be erected is severely limited when one takes into consideration the size and shape of the area which is left within that portion of the lot which lies inside the setback and the building lines associated with the side and rear boundaries.

The result, particularly where the area of the lots is small, is that the major dimension of the buildings is that of depth, and the windows of each building along this major dimension face directly into the building on the next lot. At the same time, the limitations previously mentioned leave very little choice as to the plan and orientation of the buildings which are erected in a subdivision of minimum size lots.

According to the present invention, these difficulties are resolved by making alternate lots wide at the front and narrow at the back and vice versa so that one lot will have a wide frontage on the access road while the ones next to it will have a narrow frontage thereon. Where the lots fronting on the access road do not have their rears along the edge of the parcel being divided, there will be an access strip separating the lots fronting on one access road and the lots fronting on the next access road, which arrangement leads to further advantages as Will hereinafter be described. By having the lots wide at the front and narrow at the back and vice versa, the advantage is achieved, not only that for a given area of lot a larger and more versatile building package may be erected thereon within the area bounded by the setback aud the building lines, but that the building sites on alternate lots are at a staggered depth from the access road so that no building looks directly into a building on the next lot, and the outlook from the building which is erected is much less obstructed by buildings on adjacent lots than would be the case with the conventional arrangement. The arrangement of lots according to the invention is particularly advantageous where the terrain is slopingand where there isa particular feature of scenery such as a lake, river or mountain because with appropriate directioning and positioning of the access roads, it enables a maximum number of the buildings to have a View of the features of scenery.

Although the invention exhibits advantages over conventional practice when the lot lines are straight, these advantages are most pronounced when the lot lines are curved. Preferably according to the invention, the lot lines are circular with the lot lines intersecting the major frontage springing from a point on the centreline of the lot concerned, and the lot lines intersecting the minor frontage of the lot springing from corresponding points on the centre lines of the adjacent lots so that each lot line is generally S shaped and the circles defining a given lot line have a common tangent at their point of conjunction. When the lot lines are constructed in the foregoing manner, the plan of each lot is shaped somewhat like a champagne glass with the building site on each lot located in the bowl portion of the glass. This shape has the effect of concentrating a maximum amount of area within the building site portion of the lot and leads to the greatest versatility in the size and shape of the building package which may be placed within the setback and building lines and the direction of outlook of such building package. It will be understood that since the lot lines are circular, the building lines of such a lot will also be circular and therefore a given building plan may be oriented within the building site in a manner taking best advantage of the natural surroundings so as to have the most desirable direction of outlook.

The invention, its manner of use, and the advantages to be derived therefrom, will be more fully understood from a reading of the following detailed specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate a number of embodiments thereof.

In the drawings, FIIGFU'RE 1 illustrates an arrangement of building lots according to the invention Where the lot lines are straight.

FIGURE 2 illustrates a modification of the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 1 wherein portions of the lot lines within the setback are perpendicular to the lot frontages.

FIGURE 3 illustrates an embodiment of the invention wherein the lot lines run perpendicular to the access road lines to an intermediate point of depth of the lot, and then parallel to the lot frontages.

FIGURE 4 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention wherein the lot lines are circular.

FIGURE 5 illustrates part of a subdivision including four strips of building land embodying a preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein the roads are straight.

FIGURE 6 illustrates the manner in which a preferred embodiment of the invention may be adapted to suit particular terrain.

In all of the drawings, corresponding elements have been given like reference numerals while different and new elements in the modifications have been given new reference numerals in the next decimal series for each subsequent modification.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, in FIGURE 1, lot A has a major frontage 10 on access road 11 and a minor frontage on access road 12. It will be appreciated that it is not necessarily the case that both access roads will be paved or otherwise developed for the use of vehicular traffic. It may be, and in many instances is preferred, according to the invention that one of access roads 11 or 12 be maintained simply as a road allowance and developed as lawn or parkland which can be treated as common to all the lots fronting on it. If this is done, such road allowance may be used for the distribution of electricity, telephone, drainage and sewer facilities, all of which may be underground, and the servicing of which would not then involve the tearing up of a road or sidewalk surface.

Lot A is bounded by lot lines 13 and 14 and the area of lot A available as a building site is bounded by the setback lines 15 and 16 and the building lines 17 and 18. It is to be appreciated that the location of building lines and the amount of setback is a matter normally provided for by municipal by-law, and the actual amount of setback and the distance of the building line from the lot line will vary from place to place in accordance with the provisions of the local by-laws.

The total lot area for lots laid out in accordance with the arrangement shown in FIGURE 1 is eight thousand square feet which would correspond to a conventional lot having a frontage of 64 and a depth of 125. The major frontage of each lot is 108 while the minor frontage is 18. As shown, the building lines are 6 from the lot lines. This dimension, as already mentioned, varies with local by-laws, and in many residential areas runs as high as 15'. From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the major dimension for a building on lot A can be in excess of 64' in the direction of the major frontage as opposed to less than 52, for a conventional regulation lot having the same area. It will be observed, however, that on a conventional lot, 64' x 125, any building with a frontage of more than about 50 would of necessity need to have its front parallel to the building line whereas the same building placed on lot A as illustrated could be oriented within the building area of the lot as desired.

The versatility of the arrangement of the invention is even greater in the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 2 where like elements are indicated by like reference numerals. Referring to FIGURE 2, it will be seen that because of the arrangement of the lot lines 23 and 24, the major dimension of a building within the building area of lot A bounded by the setback lines 15 and 16 and building lines 27 and 28 is greater than would be the case with lot A of FIGURE 1 despite the fact the lot area in each instance is the same.

FIGURE 3 illustrates an embodiment of the invention which is particularly adapted for sloping terrain, particularly where the building packages contemplated are multiple dwelling units. Assuming the slope of the terrain to be sharply towards the lower street line, it will be seen that the building on lot A can have a dimension of 96' x 34', while lots B and C on either side will overlook lot A and the access from the lower street line will create minor cul-de-sacs with the attendant advantage of increased privacy.

An interesting feature of the arrangement shown in FIGURE 3 where lot lines 33 and 34 (as well as building lines 37 and 38) have an intermediate offset, is the possibility of erecting building packages consisting of four unit dwellings. It will be observed that in such case, an upper storey containing two units can open onto the upper street While a lower storey containing two units can open onto the lower street. The result is that the occupants of such a four unit dwelling have the same degree of privacy as in a duplex. Moreover, such an arrangement renders land containing a sharp ledge or ridge, which would normally be difficult to utilize effectively, subject to full utilization.

FIGURE 4 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention wherein the lot lines are circular lot lines and the plan of the lots has a champagne glass configuration. As illustrated, the building lines are shown as 15 and 16 back from the lot lines, and the centres of the circles defining the lot lines are at the intersection of spring lines 49 and 50 with lot centre lines 51, 52 and 53 at known points 54, 55 and 56. It will be observed that even with the building lines set at lines 15 and 16 in from the lot lines it is still possible on an eight thousand square foot lot to have a building having a major dimension facing the front of more than 64, whereas on a conventional lot the maximum dimension facing the major lot frontage would be 40'.

Lot A is thus designated by the stakes 61, 62, 63 and 64 which define or mark the respective intersections of the lot lines 43 and 44 at the minor frontage line 10 forming a part of access strip 12 and at the major frontage of line 10 forming a part of street 11. It may also be noted that the frontage lines are marked by the lot stakes of the several lots such as Lot A, B and C, which in turn marks the street 11 and access strip 12.

A slight variation of the embodiment ilustrated in FIGURE 4 is indicated in the lot lines of the portion of the subdivision illustrated in FIGURE 6. As will be observed, the lot lines of the lots in FIGURE 6 are laid out in a circular manner in the same way as those of the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 4 with the exception that those portions of the lot lines 73 and 74 lying between the building setback lines and the frontage lines are straight and at right angles to the lot frontages. This modification may be preferred in cases where a continuation of the circular lines defining the stem of the wine glass would at the narrowest point of the stem render the stem uncomfortably narrow for a standard width of driveway. The slight modification of FIGURE 6 has no eifect on the area of the building site portion of the lots since the area and shape of the portion of each lot within the building lines and setbacks is unaffected by the modification.

FIGURE 5 illustrates a subdivision layout employing the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGURE 4 with a ectangular street plan.

Building sites or structures 65, 66 and 67 are shown illustrated relative to three adjacent lots. While these building sites or building structures are depicted in paral lel relation, it should be obvious that they can be canted transversely of the lot center lines in either direction provided they are moved inwardly of the respective lots. Actually, maximum size of building structures or sites are illustrated and usually the blocks through 67 would be slightly smaller to permit different orientations if desired. The sites or building structures are marked by the known points 68, 69, 70 and 71 which comprise stakes when the site is determined and the building is to be erected. It should be clear that the buildings located on sites 65 and 67 may all face, for example, street 11 without any building facing any other building on adjacent lots.

The illustration indicates four strips of building lots, but it will be understood that what is shown is merely illustrative of a pattern which may be repeated up to the limits of the area which is to be subdivided. As indicated, every second road allowance is maintained as lawn or parkland along which services may be run. Although the major frontage of each lot for an eight thousand foot lot would be 108', the net length of service per lot is only 32'.

FIGURE 6 illustrates a portion of a subdivision plan arranged according to the invention wherein the terrain slopes generally towards the bottom right-hand corner of the drawing towards a scenic attraction such as a lake. The strips of land 77 and 78 may be dedicated as park or pathways or may be added to one or other of the adjacent lots.

In the description thus far the comparison of the lots laid out according to the invention has been with rectangular lots of the same area and having the same depth. The lot width has therefore equalled the lot increment (i.e. distance between centre lines of adjacent lots) of the lots according to the invention. For a minimum lot area requirement of 8000, however, 64 x 125' does not represent the most effective use of the land according to conventional practice. A more logical conventional arrangement would be to have lots 100" X 80 so that the major dimension of the buildings would face the street. On a rectangular layout such as that illustrated in FIG- URE 5, this would result in an access road interval of 222 where the road allowances are 66'. The services running along the access roads would have access to lots on either side of the road, and thus it would take 50 feet of service (i.e. telephone, electricity, drainage, sewage, road surfacing and etc.) per lot to service a subdivision laid out on such an arrangement.

Turning now to FIGURE 5 where every second road allowance is a common strip not surfaced as a road, the road interval becomes 372, and the services, whether they are run along the roads or the common strips will service a lot on either side of the road or strip for each 64' of length giving a figure for feet of service per lot of 32'.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the invention provides advantages for all parties connected with municipal development. To begin with, the subdivider benefits through being able to offer a greater number of desirable lots for any given subdivided area. The eventual resident benefits through the less restricted view and freedom of orientation provided by the invention, as well as in reduced installation charges for services and reduced taxes for municipal service maintenance. The municipality benefits from the greater land use for building purposes which eventually will produce an increase in the assessment value of the subdivision, and will lead to the maintenance of a high real, or market value of the real estate contained therein. Moreover, the municipality has a shorter length of road and drains and sewers to install and maintain, and can be free of the high rate of deterioration of road surfaces brought about by maintenance and repair of services buried beneath road surfaces. This latter advantage is of increasing significance due to the tendency of municipal authorities and legislative bodies to require separate trenches for power, telephone, sewer, and drainage services.

It will be appreciated that in order to obtain the advantages of the invention it is not necessary that every lot in a given subdivision conform to the description given; it is sufiicient to provide a worthwhile advantage if only a substantial number of them are arranged in the manner described.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A subdivided parcel of building land comprising a pair of access strips in spaced apart relation in the earth, a plurality of individual building lots each of which is at least a minimum predetermined area and has at least a predetermined minimum access frontage between the access strips, the lots between the access strips being defined by metes and bounds including a marked access frontage line running along the length of one of the access strips, a marked rear line running along the length of the other of the access strips, a substantial proportion of the total number of said lots extending between the front line and the rear line, each lot of said substantial proportion having a marked major frontage and a marked minor frontage, said major and said minor frontages alternately coinciding with said front line and said rear line, the side lines of said substantial proportion of said lots being circular, the portions of the side lines intersecting the major frontage of a lot springing from a known point substantially on the longitudinal center line of said lot, the portions of side lines intersecting the minor frontage of said lot springing from known points substantially on the center lines of lots on either side of said lot, the portions of side line which respectively intersect the major frontage and minor frontage of said lot having a point of conjunction in the region of the median of the depth of said lot and a common tangent at said point of conjunction such that the side lines are generally S-shaped, building sites staked out on said lots respectively adjacent to the major frontages and orientated transversely of the longitudinal center lines thereof such that the building sites on adjacent lots are at staggered depths from a given access strip.

2. The structure of claim 1 including setback lines spaced from said access strips inwardly of the major and minor frontages of the lots, building lines spaced inwardly from the side lines of said lots and generally conforming to the contour thereof, the springing point for the lot side line portions intersecting said major frontage lying substantially on said setback line for the major frontage and the springing points for the lot side line portions intersecting said minor frontage lying substantially on the setback line spaced from the minor frontage of said lot, said sites being marked within the setback and building lines on the lots, and building packages deployed respectively on said sites and oriented such that no building faces directly into any other building on adjacent lots.

JOHN E. MURTAGH, Primary Examiner. 

1. A SUBDIVIDED PARCEL OF BUILDING LAND COMPRISING A PAIR OF ACCESS STRIPS IN SPACED APART RELATION IN THE EARTH, A PLURALITY OF INDIVIDUAL BUILDING LOTS EACH OF WHICH IS AT LEAST A MINIMUM PREDETERMINED AREA AND HAS AT LEAST A PREDETERMINED MINIMUM ACCESS FRONTAGE BETWEEN THE ACCESS STRIPS, THE LOTS BETWEEN THE ACCESS STRIPS BEING DEFINED BY METES AND BOUNDS INCLUDING A MARKED ACCESS FRONTAGE LINE RUNNING ALONG THE LENGTH OF ONE OF THE ACCESS STRIPS, A MARKED REAR LINE RUNNING ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE OTHER OF THE ACCESS STRIPS, A SUBSTANTIAL PROPORTION OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF SAID LOTS EXTENDING BETWEEN THE FRONT LINE AND THE REAR LINE, EACH LOT OF SAID SUBSTANTIAL PROPORTION HAVING A MARKED MAJOR FRONTAGE AND A MARKED MINOR FRONTAGE, SAID MAJOR AND SAID MINOR FRONTAGES ALTERNATELY COINCIDING WITH SAID FRONT LINE AND SAID REAR LINE, THE SIDE LINES OF SAID SUBSTANTIAL PROPORTION OF SAID LOTS BEING CIRCULAR, THE PORTIONS OF THE SIDE LINE INTERSECTING THE MAJOR FRONTAGE OF A LOT SPRINGING FROM A KNOWN POINT SUBSTANTIALLY ON THE LONGITUDINAL CENTER LINE OF SAID LOT, THE PORTIONS OF SIDE LINES INTERSECTING THE MINOR FRONTAGE OF SAID LOT SPRINGING FROM KNOWN POINTS SUBSTANTIALLY ON THE CENTER LINES OF LOTS OF EITHER SIDE OF SAID LOT, THE PORTIONS OF SIDE LINE WHICH RESPECTIVELY INTERSECT THE MAJOR FRONTAGE AND MINOR FRONTAGE OF SAID LOT HAVING A POINT OF CONJUCTION IN THE REGION OF THE MEDIAN OF THE DEPTH OF SAID LOT AND A COMMON TANGENT AT SAID POINT OF CONJUCTION SUCH THAT THE SIDE LINES ARE GENERALLY S-SHAPED, BUILDING SITES STAKED OUT ON SAID LOTS RESPECTIVELY ADJACENT TO THE MAJOR FRONTAGES AND ORIENTATED TRANSVERSELY OF THE LONGITUDINAL CENTER LINES THEREOF SUCH THAT THE BULIDING SITES ON ADJACENT LOTS ARE AT STAGGERED DEPTHS FROM A GIVEN ACCESS STRIP. 